Swiss banks are reportedly ready to pay hefty fines for sheltering United States tax fugitives under the terms of a new deal given the green light by the Swiss government on Wednesday.
While official details will remain thin on the ground until the US puts its signature to the agreement, both the Federal Council and the Swiss Bankers Association (SBA) said the deal should finally settle past misdemeanors to the satisfaction of all parties.
«The signing of the joint statement should enable Swiss banks to resolve the tax dispute with the United States,» the government said in a short statement.
The SBA hailed the agreement as the «final step towards a solution», adding that «the protection of employees [threatened with criminal prosecution in the US] can now be afforded to the best possible extent.»
The Swiss newspaper Tages Anzeiger said it had seen the treaty text which it claims will see banks pay fines of between 20 and 50 per cent of the assets they helped clients hide from the US tax authorities.
The deal will mainly affect around 100 banks that are under suspicion, but not investigation, by the US authorities, several media outlets reported.
The five year long dispute has already seen banking giant UBS pay a $780 million dollar fine and hand over thousands of client names to the US and the collapse of Switzerland’s oldest private bank, Wegelin, under the weight of a US criminal investigation.